Pimlach

The big guy is missing. Hard to get another Bruce Smith when you draft at the end of round 1. The mid 60’s Bills had the undisputed best defense in the AFL. They won 2 championships in a row and then Lou Saban went flakey and moved on.

They need to upgrade WR and CB and S.

The coach is probably not going anywhere. I agree that his defensive system and the players we have right now are not getting it done. I just don't need 5 years of stats to tell me that. The team lacks play makers on defense. There are no Pro Bowlers I would be open to a new DC with a new system but I doubt that happens. I was at the gym and ESPN was on. A talking head showed a few replays of KC making big runs and he said KC ran play and used a few looks that he had never seen them use before. So Andy Reid was holding back some plays for the big game. It is clear that McD and his staff do not match up well to Reid/Spagnola. Nobody else does either.

No one is talking about the last four playoff games which goes back five years. Many players and coaches have changed in that time anyway. Most honest fans will admit that the KC defense is better than the Buffalo's defense. That is the most significant difference in the talent between the teams and it has given KC the edge in the past two seasons. The subject is the last game. The Bills offense has to control the clock and score more to overcome their defense, that is an honest assessment. The margin for error against KC is small as we see over and over. It is fair to say that the officials completely blew the spot on back to back plays when the Bills were driving and looking to go up by two scores in the 4th Q. Replays show that Allen passes the line on 4th down. The only question is does the ball pass the line? The sideline ref that could actually see the ball in Allen's arms was going to spot it over the line for a first down, you could see his foot placement on the replay, it was over the line. The ref on the opposite sideline, the one that could only see Allen's back took the ball and spotted it at least a 1/2 yard behind the line. So the first question is why did the ref with the impossible view make the call on the field? Ok, we have replay, that should fix it, right? So the second question is how does the replay not overturn the spot? That is a big problem with the NFL right now and it seems that these controversies follow the Kansas City Chiefs. Add that Nantz, Romo, and Gene Seratore (Rules analyst, former NFL employee) all thought Allen made it, and they said it on national TV. For some reason the call on the field stood and the ref with the blind view spot was upheld. I have looked at this replay a lot. Allen and ball were over the line. There are videos out there showing it. This is how you get people complaining about the refs and looking down at the NFL. Social media and mainstream are both overwhelmingly supporting that the Bills did not get a fair spot. Did the Bills get more chances to score? Yes, the Bills still could have made more plays and won the game. But stop pretending that these calls did not change the momentum of the game and effect the outcome. There were at least 3 other big officiating errors that hurt the Bills, so unfortunately it is not all coaching/players/scheme. There were other variables in the outcome to this game.

Yup, I am devastated. They didn't. Very vanilla game plan overall. They didn't even adjust to the tush push getting stopped. I find it very curious that Cook was not on the field for the last drive. He was running hard, finding lanes, he should have been getting passes too. He had two brilliant TDs and he played like a the guy that wanted the game put on his shoulders. Yet, he was underutilized IMO.

Now there Mr Inky, after we review the purchase contracts, then you can show me the tush push play.

I am sure that there are people that say that. Bill Bellichick was not one of them. If you coach purely by analytics then I guess you subscribe to that. I prefer coaches that can feel the game. To be clear, we didn't lose the game because we took away the PAT. There was no one play that caused the loss IMO. I am just saying that in general, trying for 2 that early in the game and failing, is worse than just settling for 1 point.

ehhh, maybe you should not be reading the Bills thread then?

Going for 2 points in the first half is almost always a mistake. Baltimore made that mistake against us just the week prior. The Bills literally took one point off the board. Keep that point and you need a FG to win, not tie. Keep that point and make your 2 point try and the game is tied. I hate going for two in the first half, you just don't know how things will play out.

They are a very good team, they have better talent than most think, but without Allen they are not a serious contender. You can say that about a lot of teams and their QB. They are drafting 30th. The best path to get a true #1 WR, one that they can plug in right now, is probably free agency. Unlike the Sabres, good players will come to Buffalo. The problem is they cost a fortune and the best ones are usually divas. Tee Higgins is young and a notable name. Areas that they are set at: QB, OL, TE, RB, starting LB The needs are: WR - speed and a true #1. Keep Coleman, Shakir, Hollins but add speed and a real #1. CB - Add another that can start and they can rotate with with Douglas and Benford. They are too susceptible to injuries' and it is time to move on from Elam. I expect them to pick two CBs in the draft. They have good luck in the middle and late rounds. Safety - I would look at replacing Hamlin. Again they can look at Free Agents and the draft. DL - they always seem to need help here. They really need a playmaker/difference maker on defense. Free agency may be the way. The have a good amount of cap space and a bunch of picks to work with. This retooled version of the Bills is just getting started.

Let’s Go Bills!!!

I always think of Don Luce when it comes to winning a critical face-off. The reality is the center can win the draw but if his team does get the puck and maintain possession then he doesn’t really win. We a problem with this. This team is passive in their defensive zone and quick to go into a shell.

So Ruff is playing the same style as Granato? Is that what you see? I don’t see that. I do see that Cozens is thinking and is not an instinctive player right now. I see that he takes on a lot, and that pressure is a problem for him. He can read and hear the news - the expectations for 7 years and $7 million. Then he gets a A. The team disappoints, he disappoints, and everything gets worse. For Dylan Cozens (and several other young Sabres), the failure of Kevyn Adams’ flawed rebuild is proving to be too much, too soon. Judging his current game Cozens is a 3rd line winger with a 2nd line ceiling, yet he is playing 1C, 2C, and on PP2. That is the way the roster is constructed. He will get blamed, and traded, and he will eventually have a good career somewhere else.

Tuch, Krebs, a one, and a two. Vegas had nothing to lose. Even if Eichel did not recover, it was still a good risk to take. They also were not in a 14 year rebuild, they were knocking on the door, and did not give up anything that they needed to reach their goal. Apples and oranges comparison.

You can call it lying, certainly calling it exaggeration is fair. I take all of these trade rumors tweets with a grain of salt. I’m not defending anything they tweet either. I am discussing how to handle the information. Ignoring it is my way. I am more old school than many here, probably more so than you. The way we get news and information has drastically changed in my lifetime. I no longer wait for Friday afternoon to get my weekly Sports Illustrated in the mail, or scour the local newspapers everyday, or wait for a sports program to air on TV to hear about what’s happening. Anyone can toss something out there on X. Speed of information is more important than detail and accuracy, and it’s about getting clicks, retweets, followers, etc. That’s our world right now.

Maybe so. My opinion is based on a limited view. What I see is an unhappy floater with a ton of talent. Buffalo Sabres hockey under Pegula incubates unhappy floaters with tons of talent. I want an $11M player that hates losing and makes the players around him better. I would walk away from a trade for this guy.

If we do acquire EP I suspect he will have one good season at the most, and then he turns back into the player that he is right now. I do not want him. He is not going to help us become a winning and hard working team. That is not him. He stagnated on Vancouver where they have much higher expectations than the Pegula Sabres. Let’s not rebuild with players that need rehab (see Lehner, Kane and Bogo), it won’t work.

What else do the Sabres faithful want to hear about (or click on)? There are other stories but all they do is highlight what we know. That the fan base is dwindling, no one wants to play for or work for the Sabres, and that the franchise is dying.

Third from the bottom. They aren’t even good enough to tank. They should just play it out.

Anyone on the team you mean.

7 seven years based on 57 games. Way to go Kevyn.

I thought the goalie pushed it in after it hit Kulich’s foot.

The won’t score if they don’t shoot.

He is one of the very few positives in this season so far.